September 1999
Agents@Work
Intelligent Agent Communities
By Gad Barnea
Gad discusses distributed object computing in terms of communities
of simple, task-oriented programs that share their collective data,
statistical inferences, and adaptive models for the greater good.
Smart Interactive Characters
By Barbara Hayes-Roth
Moving beyond the well-known Eliza program, Barbara adds personality,
purpose, and a new face to agent applications that help you navigate
your favorite Web site. Read along and meet Max, Jennifer, Merlin,
and the rest of the Extempo crew.
Privacy Critics
By Mark S. Ackerman and Lorrie Faith Cranor
Mark and Lorrie explain
how a new W3C framework will protect users, while Joseph Reagle
and Lorrie outline some of the details of the W3C's Platform
for Privacy Preferences (P3P) Project.
C O L U M N S :
Webmaster's Domain
Frustrated with the overcommercialization of the Web, Lincoln
D. Stein compares -- or should we say differentiates --
between the Web and TV.
Integrated Design
As Molly Holzschlag takes over our Integrated Design column,
she reflects on her past life at Microsoft. In the process she
shows us how to design in a large organization driven by top-down
specifications.
Database Developer
William F. Slater III sits in for Ken North this month,
and takes a walk through FrontPage 2000. Is there a pot of gold
at the end of this rainbow?
Programming with Perl
Starting to feel the weight of CGI, Randal L. Schwartz
installs mod_perl into his Apache server to give us his pictures
really fast.
Java@Work
Although writing a custom spreadsheet may seem like more work than
you want to attempt, there's hope in the form of spreadsheet controls.
This month, Al Williams lightens the workload, using
Tidestone's Formula One.
Beyond HTML
Michael Floyd chats with Norbert Mikula, one of the early
pioneers of XML, about DataChannel's XML Framework and the latest
version of RIO.
D E P A R T M E N T S :
Script Junkie
Employing syntax that's natural for humans and robots alike, this
month Carl Sassenrath, the creator of REBOL,
shows us how and why this language
was made for messaging.
Lab Note
Dale Dougherty examines SoftQuad's XMetaL, an authoring environment
that crosses a visual development environment with a word processor.
The Home Page
Editor-in-Chief Bob Kaehms tells his most lasting bot story.
News & Notes
Learn what's new with
Haptek's Virtual Friends, the HTML Master Reference, Quantified
Web System's Veribot, IBM's WebSphere, and the Web Tools Awards.
Mail.com
Object Orientation and other letters.
The Last Page
Editorial Director Dale Dougherty discusses the selling
of Open Source.
